A dispute over a woolly section of the Municipal Act has stalled council’s 2013 appointments to boards and committees.

The clash, which occurred at this week’s council meeting, centred on whether or not the head of council — reeve or mayor — is an ex officio member of a district board.

Reeve Ken Lamming contended that he is an ex officio member of the Sault Ste. Marie District Social Services Administration Board and, as such, he may appoint himself instead of Coun. Ron Amadio to represent Prince on the DSSAB.

Lamming cited Section 226 of the Municipal Act to support his claim.

“Ex officio (means) I’m automatically on every board ... I don’t need election or appointment by anybody,” he told council.

Section 226 states that a municipality, acting with the consent of the head of council, may appoint a council member to serve in place of the head of council on any body (except another municipal council) where the head of council holds an ex officio position.

But Coun. David Yanni argued that Section 226 makes Lamming an ex officio member only of township boards and committees. Appointments to district boards must have council’s approval, he said.

Coun. Amy Zuccato also expressed misgivings.

“If we have one person at our table that says they have the right to choose over all of us, that doesn’t sound right,” she said.

Yanni added that the DSSAB prefers to have its appointees serve for a full council term.

“The board is very complex and has a very broad mandate. I can understand why they’re asking for the continuity of having the same person on, and I fully support that,” he said.

Amadio, who was appointed to the DSSAB after the last election, said he had already received its endorsement and didn’t want to leave in mid-term.

“I’m just becoming comfortable with that board, and I see no reason for me to be taken off that board,” he said.

But Lamming criticized Amadio’s performance on the DSSAB, saying he had not presented DSSAB reports during council meeting or invited its staff to address council on matters affecting Prince.

Amadio replied that DSSAB meetings are open, and all minutes and monthly reports are posted on its website. Any documents he might bring to council would only duplicate what was readily available online, he said.

The proposal to oust Amadio from the DSSAB was not the only touchy issue confronting council during the meeting.

Equally contentious was Lamming’s bid to remain on the Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority, where he has served a total of 20 non-consecutive years.

“I think you’ve served a sufficient time on the Conservation Board, and someone else should have the opportunity,” Yanni told him.

The issues Chambers mentioned included a 3-2 vote by the SSMRCA board in December to permit the development of a 91-lot subdivision on Pointe aux Pins Drive in the city, a site where 40% of the property is classified as wetlands.

Lamming, the board’s chair, cast the tie-breaking vote, earning the ire of the Pointes Protection Association, a group of area families working to keep the ecosystem undamaged. Earlier this month, the group’s president, Peter Gagnon, sent a letter to councillors, asking them to appoint an individual to the SSMRCA “who will place the best interest of the SSMRCA and its mandate ahead of any personal interests.”

After a short discussion, Lamming agreed to move Coun. Amy Zuccato to the SSMRCA from her present position on the Algoma District Municipal Association. He insisted, however, that the move had nothing to do with Gagnon’s letter or pressure from the Pointes Protection Association.

Chambers then offered to take Zuccato’s place on the ADMA.

The unexpected shuffle meant that the draft bylaw to appoint representatives to committees and boards had to be amended.

In a recorded vote, Zuccato and Lamming voted for an amendment to the draft bylaw that would see Chambers move to the ADMA, and Zuccato to the SSMRCA. The draft bylaw, as presented in the council packages, named Lamming as Prince’s DSSAB appointee.

Amadio, Chambers and Yanni voted against the amendment, defeating it.

They proposed instead an amendment that would confirm Zuccato and Chambers in their new appointments but reappoint Amadio to the DSSAB.

Lamming quickly objected.

“That goes against our rules of procedure,” he said, citing Section 3 of the township’s procedural bylaw, which outlines the reeve’s duties.

The key sections were 3.1. 5 and 3.1.10.

Section 3.1.5 states that the reeve must “decline to put to the vote motions which infringe on the rules of procedure.”

Section 3.1.10 permits the reeve “to select the members of Council who are to serve on committees and have such approved by resolution of Council.”

In short, Lamming contended that Amadio, Chambers, and Yanni were violating the township’s procedural bylaw by failing to approve his appointment to the DSSAB.

“Until the Integrity Commissioner decides how this goes, I’m refusing to put this to a vote,” he said. “Until we get a ruling on this, nobody goes on any committees.”

At that point, Amadio urged council to “carry on” with the next item on the agenda.

After the meeting, Lamming explained that he wanted to serve on the DSSAB to safeguard the township’s interests.

“Thousands of Prince Township’s tax dollars go to the DSSAB every year” he said. “My concern is that the township needs a more aggressive person on the board to make sure ... the large amount of tax dollars are spent wisely.”

Administrator Peggy Greco said that she had hoped to speak before the meeting with township lawyer Paul Cassan, of Wishart Law Firm, on the question of ex officio appointments to district boards, but learned Cassan was away from Sault Ste. Marie.

But until the question is settled, last year’s appointees to committees and boards will continue to hold their positions, said Greco.